Study abroad with Sacred Heart University in Spain

September 24, 2008

Touring Andalucia

Hola a todos, Since my last blog entry I have
been having cycles of activity with periods of doing nothing more than waking
up , watching TV or reading. I am getting tired of being a tourist a little bit
and am ready to start classes. When I am in the states, I am used to being in
school full time with a couple of jobs and all my other activities with the different
clubs that I am in so this has been something that I am not used to.

At ICS they have an intercambio program where they link you
to someone who wants to practice their English while giving you the opportunity
to practice your Spanish. My intercambio’s name is Ana and last week we met in
a Ceverceria. We talked in Spanish
only as we got to know each other for I don’t know over an hour.

We had
some things that mirrored each other. She wants to live over in the states, I
want to live here in Spain. She lives with her mom, I live with my dad, She
thinks American guys are all that and a bag of chips while I melt for Spaniards
especially Andalucíans . She is a cool chick and the next time we meet, we will
be talking in English only.

On my sisters insistence one day we went
walking and found the public library of Sevilla. There was not an easy venture
because there is no way that you would know that it was the library because the
one sign that says library is covered by a big tree and from the outside it
looks like any other building in Sevilla. Directions given by random Sevillanos
on the street only became clearer the closer we got to the building but we did
find it. After figuring out the locker and bike rack system we finally entered
the building. 45 minutes later we walked
out card-carrying members of the bibliotecas
públicas de Andalucía .

During the week I visited three main places, the Parque de Maria Luisa,
Plaza de

España y Alcazar. To explain a bit the Parque de Maria Luisa, I took a
quote from an article online.

In the
1920's, while they were redirecting the Gudalquivir and building the new port
and factories that are the foundation of the city's growth today, the
Sevillenos decided to put on an exposition. In a tremendous burst of energy,
they turned the entire southern end of the city into an expanse of gardens and
grand boulevards. The centre of it is Parque de Maria Luisa, a paradisical half
mile of palms and orange trees, elms and Mediterranean pines, covered with
flower beds and dotted with hidden bowers, ponds and pavilions. Now that the
trees and shrubs have reached maturity, the genius of the landscapers can be
appreciated - this is one of the loveliest parks in Europe . (Quintero,J.
The Maria Luisa Park in Seville) http://www.andalucia.com/cities/seville/marialuisapark.htm

After
walking through the park, I emerged close to the Plaza de España and decided to
walk around it and not just pass by on my way to another location. The Plaza de
España was laid out in 1929 for an abortive 'Fair of the Americas'. There is a
tiled alcove named after each of the provinces of Spain and each tile displays
an important aspect of that province’s history. I would definitely recommend
that anyone coming to Spain visit it. A cool thing to do is to take a picture
by each province that you have visited within Spain.

The
coolest place that I visited this week was by far Alcazar. I used up my whole
camera memory and changed batteries twice just on that once visit.

The Alcázar
of Seville (Spanish "Alcázares Reales de Sevilla" or "Royal
Alcazars of Seville") is a royal palace in Seville, Spain. Originally a Moorish fort, the Alcázar (from the
Arabic القصر, al-qasr, meaning
"palace") has been expanded several times. The Almohades were the
first to build a palace, called Al-Muwarak, on the site. Most of the modern
Alcázar was built over Moorish ruins for King Pedro of Castile (also known
as Pedro the Cruel) with construction beginning in 1364. Pedro used Moorish workers to build his
palace giving it a distinctly Islamic design. The palace is one of the best
remaining examples of mudéjar
architecture, a style under Christian rule in Spain but using Islamic
architectural influence. Subsequent monarchs have added their own additions to
the Alcázar. Charles V's addition of gothic elements contrasts with the dominant Islamic style. The upper apartments of the Alcázar are
still used by the royal family as the official Seville residence and are
administered by the Patrimonio Nacional.

On Sunday my sis and I got up early and took the bus to
Aracena in Huelva which was about an hour away from Sevilla. In Aracena our
main goal was to go to la Gruta de las Maravillas. Afterwards we went to the Museum
of Ham and to the Caste.

La gruta de las Maravillas or Cave of wonders
in English is an underground cave that has gorgeous stalagmites and stalactites.
The formations are also in different colors because of minerals and algae in
the water. There are about 12 different chambers with names like, the Cathedral
or Room of Bottoms and six lakes and smaller streams and pools of water. It is
a truly beautiful site. We were told in both English and in Spanish that there
are absolutely no picture taking which of course meant that my sis and I
sneaked in a couple whenever the guide wasn’t looking but without the flash in
a cave the results were interesting. A random fact in relation to la gruta , it
was used as a set during the making of – Journey to the Center of the Earth.

After La gruta my sis and I
meandered along to the Museo del Jamón.
Spain has a type of ham that is made only in Spain and I think Portugal. It is
the one of the most delicious things and something that I would miss when I’m
back in the states. Within the museum we learnt about the different types of
Jamon Iberico and why the ham tastes so good. The answer is cause they eat
mainly acorns and roam the countryside that helps keeps the levels of fat low.
The pigs here exercise – LOL - . We also learnt about the differences between the
old way of slaughtering and curing them vs. how they do it now.

By the time we finished these two activities
it was lunch time and in Spain and everything closes so we decided to walk back
to the bus stop which took us an hour. When we reached the bus stop we found
out that it was 2 hours till the next bus back to Sevilla so we decided to
venture to the Castillo that dominates the top of the main hill in Aracena. It
took us 30/40 minutes uphill to get there but it was worth it. It’s a beautiful
building and the ruins give a glimpse of how it used to be. I was also reminded
of all the historical romance books I used to read. The next time I read one my
mental picture of the castles would be influenced I think by the castles of
Spain.

It is a thirteenth century Medieval-style
Christian castle built over an Arab castle built over an Arab castle. It was
destroyed in 1812 by the French army. The Church of our Lady of Los Dolores,
which is from the thirteenth century, but has later additions, stands on the
site of a former mosque. The twelfth century Almohad tower is its outstanding
feature.

PICTURES !!!

1. My library card 2. It looks like a mangrove tree from Trinidad. 3. my sister and I 4. Statues in the Park around a tree. 5. me being me 6. Plaza de Espana 7. Fountain in Plaza de Espana .